When you think about a chest workout probably the first thing that comes to mind is mass. Most people associate a well-developed chest with masculinity and virility. So with that being said, for men that means building slabs of muscle that stand out. How does one go about that?

Honestly it takes hard work, consistency, a good diet, proper supplementation, and of course the proper program. The is actually a fairly straightforward muscle to train because there are only two basic movement types people use – presses and flyes, along with a variety of angles. But, with that being said, it is surprising the number of people that don’t develop a balanced, complete chest.

The following chest workout aims to fix that problem.

Power Pec Builder

This program is built around 2 different workouts. You can alternate them or double up on them ( 2 of A, 2 of B, 2 of A, etc). The idea is to attack from different angles and using a range of reps and type of work to constantly challenge the muscle.

The most important thing for both workouts is form. As in all exercises, form is critical to engage the muscle properly, avoid, injury, and steadily increase weight. For chest, a lot of people cheat to try and lift more weight which is really a bad idea because while it might work at first, it doesn’t do much in the long-term. The sloppy form is dangerous and even worse, doesn’t actively target the chest that well.

Workout A – Power

Pushups – 2 sets of 12 – These are for warm-up purposes so just crank them out to get the blood flowing.

Incline Barbell Press – 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps – Two warm-up sets followed by two sets to failure with your work weight. Use a 30-40 degree incline.

Flat Dumbbell Flyes – 3 sets of 8 to 12 reps – One warm-up followed by two sets to failure. Try and bend the elbow a minimal amount and get a good arc on the fly to really stretch the pecs.

Decline Barbell Press – 4 sets of 8 to 12 reps – Two warm-up sets followed by two sets to failure with your work weight. Use a 30-40 degree decline.

Workout B – Shape

Flat Barbell Bench Press – 3 sets of 20 reps – Superset With – Dumbbell Pullovers – 3 sets of 15 reps – This is all about pumping up the chest and then stretching it out along with the rib cage.

Incline Dumbbell Flyes – 3 sets of 12 to 15 reps – Focus on squeezing the pecs and twist your pinkies in at the top, then get a nice stretch.

Bar Dips – 2 sets to failure – Lean forward and put all the emphasis on the chest. This exercise really builds the shape of the lower chest and makes that “shelf”.

Cable Crossovers – 2 sets of 20 – Both sets are work sets. Focus on keeping constant tension on the muscle and squeezing each contraction to bring out the definition.

Some people might look at these routines and wonder where the heavy bench press is? It was not utilized because a lot of people develop shoulder problems or ego problems when going heavy on the bench. It is easier to utilize other exercises which often are much more effective and avoid pressure on the shoulder joints.

It is important to utilize both of these workouts to get the maximum gain. A chest workout needs to use both medium and high reps to get the maximum growth and development possible. Give this routine a try for a few weeks and I bet you will feel the difference